


Wary of the Unknown

by Fae_Ryn



Series: Yarn's Yarn [3]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Doesn't have anything to do with the story but it's a good song, Featuring my total inability to get home by 2, Fishing, Gen, Linus POV, Linus is best villager hands down, Linus is wary at first but he warms up, Linus isn't human but that's okay neither is Yarn, Linus' four heart event sort of, Neither of them is sure how to person but it's okay they're trying, Written while listening to Mary Lambert's She Keeps Me Warm, Yarn attempts to bird, no beta we die like idiots, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 10:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20241046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fae_Ryn/pseuds/Fae_Ryn
Summary: Linus thinks the new farmer and he might have a few things in common. Fear of others being first on that list.Meanwhile Yarn continues being the weirdest person in the valley.





	Wary of the Unknown

The first time he saw them, they froze like a rabbit spotted by a wolf.

Actually, he thought, watching as their eyes darted to his hands, hips and back before they finally settled on his face, they were more like a wolf themself. A dangerous, wary wild animal watching him from across the small clearing near his tent.

Too wary to turn his back he edged a few steps around the campfire to keep them in view before he resumed whittling his new tent stake. Eventually they gave a short bow and crossed his clearing on light feet.

Two days later he woke to find a forearm sized piece of intricately carved wood in front of his tent. He lifted it warily, catching a strong waft of garlic as he did so. The note attached to it read simply,

_ An offering of peace. _

_ \- Yarn_

His brow creased. Yarn?

Ah. The new farmer. He more carefully scanned the glyphs and found the stake was a talisman of warding against vampires of all things. It hit him a moment later - Yarn had seen him carving a wooden stake.

Curious, he thought, tying the gift to the side of his tent. How odd a life had this new farmer lived to not only see a wooden stake and assume it was for a vampire but to also know how to craft such a potent ward?

  
  


For the next month he awoke at least once a week to a new gift. None were quite as odd as the first, though the tarp he received was a close second. He was grateful for it that week when the spring rains lashed against the walls of his home however.

The next time he actually saw them it was very, very early in the morning. The sun was just barely beginning to brighten the dark above the mountains to the east and even the birds had only just begun to stir. He had just begun his morning routine when he saw a flash of white in a tree just down the cliff on his left. Curious and wary, he approached.

It was Yarn. They were securely tucked between a few tangled branches, sword on one hip, the rest of their supplies slung up in the branches nearby. A strange bird in a strange world. He'd thought himself silent enough, but their eyes snapped open before he was within thirty feet of their impromptu nest. He thought he saw what Pierre had meant about their eyes - in the dim light he was almost sure they glowed.

He held up his hands in a gesture of peace. "Greetings."

"It is a pleasure. I am Yarn. I hope you have found use for my offerings," they rasped, voice rough and worn. It made his own throat ache in sympathy.

"I have. I am Linus."

They nodded. Swiftly, they gathered their belongings and climbed down to the ground. They gave a short bow, skittish as they left as wide a gap as possible as they walked around him to the stretch of forest leading to their home. 

  
  


He began to see them more often. Instead of sneaking past in the middle of the night or taking the long way around by Robin's home to avoid him they would give him a respectful nod or wave as they passed by. Once they both happened to be by the lake to fish, and he taught them to make his special bait. They were clumsy with their rod, fingers fumbling, pulling hard when they should have let the line run instead.

"You don't have much experience with fishing, do you?" he asked.

"It is not a skill I have had reason to hone."

He laughed. "You do not have to justify yourself to me. Here, copy me."

  


A few days later he sent them tips for preparing sashimi by slipping the letter in with the rest of their mail that night.

  


It was perhaps two months into their stay in the valley that he called to them as they walked back home from the mines one night.

"Come. There is plenty for two."

Yarn nodded, taking the indicated seat. He returned to the fish, placing it on the rugged ceramic he'd crafted out of the valley's clay. Yarn offered him a loaf of bread from their backpack. It looked homemade, thick crust cracking satisfactorily as he tore off one end, nodding his thanks.

The fire snapped and crackled, smoke rising straight into the sky and flavoring the mild carp on their plates. Relaxed and full, Linus leaned back to stare into the sky.

"I never tire of this view," he said. "It is beautiful, is it not?"

"I suppose."

"Your voice is sounding better. Are you recovering well?"

"It is as recovered as it will ever be."

When they offered no more, he continued, "You and I are the same."

A huff of breath that might one day dream of becoming a laugh. "A druid and a being that stands unnaturally on the edge of life and death?"

"Outcasts. Strange, with no interest in becoming less so for the sake of others."

"I do not know how to be other than I am now."

"Do you want to be?"

Yarn's head tilted to the sky as they thought. Many minutes later, "I do not know."

Linus nodded. The conversation died there, the two of them soaking in nature until Linus stood, yawning, and excused himself. He left Yarn sitting there alone, a strange sentinel in the flickering light of the fire.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought Linus was a caveman the first time I met him and my friend had to correct me.
> 
> Also I'm trying to tell this story w as little use of Yarn's POV as possible, so let's see how that goes. I'm also best known for tooth rotting fluff, so expect to see that in here wherever possible.


End file.
